Biography
Gunilla Süssmann of Norway ranks among the leading figures in her country's rising wave of classical pianists, and her profile has started to extend past Scandinavia. Born on June 22, 1977, in Bergen, she took up the piano at age six. In 2000 she completed her studies at the Norwegian State Academy of Music under Einar Steein-Nökleberg. While continuing lessons with the same instructor, she also attended master classes in Munich and Darmstadt. A string of awards—the Youth Piano Championships in 1987 and 1995, the Grieg Competition's Special Prize in 2000, and the Robert Levin Festspill Prize in 2002—opened the way to further training abroad, culminating in a diploma from the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover in 2003. Two years afterward, a solo recital at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw marked the start of her international activity. She has since appeared in recitals and concerto engagements throughout Norway, Germany, and Sweden, as well as in Krakow and Belgrade.
Before completing her Hannover program, Süssmann issued her first recording, a Naxos album devoted to Geirr Tveitt, which earned a nomination at the 2002 Cannes Classical Awards. Additional releases have appeared on NMA, AVI, Simax, CAvi-Music, and Berlin Classics—the latter featuring the first three volumes of Johannes Brahms's Violin Concertos with Catherine Manoukian—while a 2018 Ondine disc paired her with cellist Tanja Tetzlaff in music by Rautavaara, following their earlier account of the Brahms Cello Sonatas. She has also worked as a vocal accompanist, joining soprano Solveig Kringlebotn for the 2008 album Romanser. Further partners include Martin Fröst, Lars Anders Tomter, and the Vertavo String Quartet. In 2018 her schedule featured Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54, performed with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra led by Edward Gardner.
Before completing her Hannover program, Süssmann issued her first recording, a Naxos album devoted to Geirr Tveitt, which earned a nomination at the 2002 Cannes Classical Awards. Additional releases have appeared on NMA, AVI, Simax, CAvi-Music, and Berlin Classics—the latter featuring the first three volumes of Johannes Brahms's Violin Concertos with Catherine Manoukian—while a 2018 Ondine disc paired her with cellist Tanja Tetzlaff in music by Rautavaara, following their earlier account of the Brahms Cello Sonatas. She has also worked as a vocal accompanist, joining soprano Solveig Kringlebotn for the 2008 album Romanser. Further partners include Martin Fröst, Lars Anders Tomter, and the Vertavo String Quartet. In 2018 her schedule featured Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54, performed with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra led by Edward Gardner.
Albums
